Steven Moffat teases new Who companion + what it takes to be one

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Every Doctor Who fan has had fantasies about traveling through time and space with that mad man in the Big Blue Box from Gallifrey. But do they have the chops to travel with the Time Lord? Steven Moffat explains who and what it takes to be a proper Doctor Who companion, while teasing the upcoming arrival of new companion Jenna-Louise Coleman.

So you guys all know by now that the Ponds—Amy (Karen Gillan) and Rory (Arthur Darvill)—will be leaving our Doctor (Matt Smith) to his own devices by the end of the fifth episode of the upcoming seventh season of Who. The heartbreaking departure of the only married couple in the TARDIS will also feature the return of those awesome Weeping Angels.

Speaking to Doctor Who Magazine, Moffat—who recently said that Doctor Who without a companion would depress him—teased how newcomer Jenna-Louise Coleman's arrival as the new companion during the Christmas special will "shock" though there will be familiar elements:

"I'll answer you in the show about how it's going to be different. But because it is going to be different. It's going to be a shock, I think. In terms of the companions all being 'the same'—that's not as phony or artistically crap a thing to say as it sounds.

"What is the base group of people who would run away with the Doctor? They're all going to be a bit mad. A bit dislocated. Not happy with where they are. Are they yearning for outer space? They're going to be people who feel like they can take on the Doctor, who's quite an intimidating sort of person. So, they're going to be feisty—they're going to be all those things. He sort of defines the people who are going to travel with him. The distinction comes very much from the various actors and actresses. So, you know, they're the ones who create the differences between them. But you are always going to have the same sort of person, just because it's the same man choosing them, and it"s the same person being chosen."

Moffat also addressed the fact that the Doctor always tends to choose pretty young female companions (with a few exceptions, of course) to accompany him on his mad adventures:

"I think the function of a companion is pretty simple. I don't think that's very difficult. It's just a question of who credibly is going to agree to go in the TARDIS? Who's going to do it? Is it going to be a mother of 15 children? No. Is it going to be someone in their 60s? No. Is there going to be a particular age range? I mean ... who's going to have a crush on the Doctor? You know, come on! It's more than a format. It's evolved from good, dramatic reasons."

Do you guys actually agree with Steven Moffat's laundry list of who can be a proper Who companion and why?